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LIBERTY OF THE SEAS - First Cruise and LOVED it.

Sail Date:
August 2012

Destination:
Europe - Western Mediterranean

Embarkation:
Barcelona

Just home from a wonderful first cruise with Royal Caribbean on Liberty of the Seas. From the moment we arrived on board we were treated like royalty it was unreal. Having never cruised before we were unsure what to expect. We travelled with my elderly parents who have cruised many times before, and our 13 year old son. I must admit I thought cruises were for older people but I couldn't have been more wrong! The majority of our ship I would say were under 40 with a large volume in the 20-30 age group which really surpised us.

Our cabin was an inside one with two single beds that had been put together and a drop down bunk on one side for our son. The bed was the most comfortable one I have ever slept on away from home! The bathroom was great with an excellent shower and there was plenty of storage space. It was obviously 'cosy' with three of us in the room but believe me, you're not in there much.

We ate all our meals in the main dining room on the My Time More
Dining service. We expected to not eat every night there before we left as others on here had said the food was fair but it was brilliant. We are quite fussy with where we eat normally, paying more for good food for sure but the food on Liberty of the Seas was excellent. There was a choice of about 8 or so starters and mains and a good choice of puddings and all were really good...add to that excellent waiter service and you can't go wrong! We booked all our tables online before we left and this was a good thing to do as we just walked in and a table was waiting for us be it 6.45, 8.15 etc. We had a table in the same area every night, often overlooking the dining two floors below which was beautiful and obviously had the same waiters who knew what drinks we liked etc. Re drinks, we booked a wine package (gold) before we left and as the 'reserve' red was so good we had that every night, we booked soda packages too which are well worth it. We ate breakfast in the main dining room on level 3, where you can enjoy the excellent self service buffet or have waiter service. We didn't use Windjammers at all, looked a little like a department store restaurant but would be great for those with young children as more relaxed.

The entertainment was excellent as per other reviews, Saturday Night Fever must not be missed, as good as the West End in London and in a beautiful theatre. My parents loved the Ice Skating show too and the magician on the last night was brilliant.

We spent most pool time at the Adult only pool as it was lovely and quiet away from the main pool area which has music, bands etc playing. All the water areas are really good and there was an amazing Aquazone for the little ones with fountains etc. My son loved the Flowrider and was often on there. We used the mini golf quite a few times and my son also did the climbing wall which was great. He loved the amusement arcade which you need dollars for which you credit onto your child's room card so they can spend as and when! We got our dollars out of the onboard cash machine but might be better to bring some with you. My son didn't really use the kids club as we were off shore most days and we wanted to spend our holiday together.

There are lots of bars etc to relax in, only thing I would say is most play music a little too loud which means it's hard to chat with friends and family, we did love the Cloud9 bar overlooking the pools when it was quiet though. The White Pool Party was brilliant, you didn't have to wear white although lots did and the poolside buffet was amazing. Drinks are quite expensive on board but we are not big drinkers so that didn't affect us too much.

Embarkation was fine but on disembarkation they managed to loose my mum's case between the room and the conveyor belt beside the ship!! She received it at home today by courier but was obviously distressed at the time. I must admit I would take my cases off myself next time.

All in all it really was a fantastic holiday and I would DEFINITELY recommend this ship and Royal Caribbean. Less

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Cabin review: Liberty of the Seas

Port and Shore Excursions

We booked a hire car with Avis before leaving UK and it was waiting for us as we stepped off ship. Really recommend this as Tuscany is beautiful and you can see it at your own pace. We went to Pisa (sat nav had best car park in it) which was great and then we went to Lucca which is a must. Gorgeous little town with lovely little shops and so beautiful.

Mt. Vesuvius

Excellent tour with RCI, our guide was brilliant, very engaging and funny and the trip to Mt Versuvius was lovely. The hike up the volcano wasn't as bad as I expected considering it was 35 degrees (took about 45 mins or so) and the view from the top, breathtaking.

Pompeii Walking Tour

Pompeii is amazing and definitely has to be done with a guide as otherwise it is just ruins...our guide really made it come to life and even our 13 year old son was enthralled. Definitely worth every penny. We did this as part of the Mt Versuvius hike which was first, fab day.

City Tour

Transfer to train was great and after an hour on the train we were in Rome and on our own to explore at our own pace. Jumped the huge queue at the Colosseum by joining a tour which is not something we normally do but it was brilliant, and this included the Forum which we queue jumped too but here we did our own thing. We started our day at the Collosseum as this was most important for us and also the furthest away from the train station. We went there by taxi and then walked our way back to the train which is near the Vatican seeing the Trevi Fountain etc en route. You wont get to see everything so just pick your favourites. We went in the Vatican a few years ago and you need to spend some time there to really get the most out of it.

Gorgeous little port with beautiful scenery and a lovely little craft market. We then caught the train to Monaco which was a bit of an uphill walk for my mum. We planned to get a taxi but we never saw one! Monaco was lovely too although a little touristy which was not surprising, good fun seeing flash cars and yachts though. To get a taxi back you need to go to the tourist info box on the harbour and they ring for one for you. It cost us 65 euros to get back to Villefranche.